Jackson Public Schools taking leap of faith in passing 2012-13 budget

JACKSON, MI – The 2012-13 budget passed by the Jackson School Board on Monday could be called a leap of faith.

File photoJackson Public Schools is borrowing money from its fund balance to balance next year's budget.

For one thing, Superintendent Dan Evans and Deputy Superintendent of Finance and Operations Bill Hannon based it on an enrollment decline of 50 students instead of the 100 that had been previously considered.

“It’s going to take a little bit of faith on our part, but I have faith in Dan and I have faith in Bill,” said Board Secretary Tim Levy. “And if they have faith and put it on paper then I have faith that it has a pretty good chance that it will come to pass and we won’t have to dip into our fund balance.”

Taking money from the fund balance to balance the budget drew fire from Trustee David Halsey. He said it goes against board policy saying that the district should add 0.4 percent to the fund balance every year and that money should only be taken from it if JPS needs to borrow before its first state aid payment comes in the fall.

Halsey also disagreed with cutting the potential enrollment loss in half. JPS has a nine-year average loss of 100 students per year, but the district gained 69 students last year and lost only 46 the year before.

“I think we need to go into the budget with a number that’s realistic and I don’t think this is realistic,” Halsey said. “I haven’t seen any data that shows anything different, and I think it’s risky to use that number.”

Halsey cast the only dissenting vote for the budget, which goes into effect July 1 and will be amended throughout the year as numbers become more solid. Treasurer Bobby Thompkins and Trustee Teresa Hawkins were absent.

Before going on summer break June 14, the state House passed a retirement reform bill that would have saved JPS about $945,000 in payments to the Michigan Public Schools Employee Retirement System. The state Senate failed to pass the legislation but has said it will take it up again when it reconvenes July 18.

Passage of the Jackson County Intermediate School District’s special-education millage Aug. 7 also would put about $260,000 of reimbursements back into the JPS budget. And negotiations are ongoing with all bargaining units except teachers, Hannon said.

Assuming that all these things end positively for JPS saved the district from cutting programs and services that would affect students, Evans said.

“I believe these assumptions we’ve made will come through, and I hate to cut busing or athletics or art because I didn’t think these things would come through,” he said. “I don’t want to put this board and the community through this if we don’t have to. This is the most difficult time in Michigan history for schools.”

The JPS budget reflects nearly $6 million less in revenues from last year, based on local, county, state and federal revenues.

It also reflects a reduction of 65 staff members, including 25.5 special-education staff members and 18 Great Start Readiness Program staffers who are having their jobs transferred to the ISD through consolidation of services agreements.

“Transfer is a better word to use with these jobs because these people will still be in our district and still serving our students,” Evans said.

The budget also allows for the hiring of a sixth-grade principal at the Middle School at Parkside next year, and it contains an agreement with the Jackson District Library for part-time staffing in the Parkside and Jackson High School libraries next year.